debug
/diːˈbʌɡ/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
also/ˈdiː.bʌɡ/
debug verb: to search for and eliminate malfunctioning elements or errors in something, especially a computer program or machinery.
Verb
debug (third-person singular simple present debugs, present participle debugging, simple past and past participle debugged)
- To search for and eliminate malfunctioning elements or errors in something, especially a computer program or machinery.
- It ranged from the pre-design development of essential components, through the stage of type test and flight test and "debugging" right through to later development of the engine to higher powers and efficiency.1945, The Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, volume 49, page 183
- It debugs all program errors, including those that are hardware initiated.1970, Behavior Research Methods and Instrumentation, volume 2, page 36
- Synonyms:
- diagnose, troubleshoot
- To remove a hidden electronic surveillance device from (somewhere).
- Typical fees: $75 to check a particular telephone, $125 to debug one room, $500 to debug a suite of offices— all plus expenses and transportation.1969, John Millar Carroll, The Third Listener: Personal Electronic Espionage, page 30
- It conducts background investigations of new CIA employees and CIA contractors, administers polygraph tests to employees and agents, debugs offices at Langley and overseas stations, patrols the buildings and grounds, protects the director and other key CIA officials, and investigates security...2012, Ronald Kessler, Inside the CIA, page 172
- To remove insects from (somewhere), especially lice.
- Mr. Moses started out his garden this year with only two toads. As they were differently marked, they soon became known as "Henry" and "Frank." Henry was strong in the pursuit of "ants." Every morning he is seen perched on his favorite hill "anting" for breakfast. Frank's occupation is that of...1905 June 15, A. J. R., “With the Long Bow”, in The Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis, Minn., retrieved 15 Feb 2017, page 14
- You can debug yourself at home with various over-the-counter medications.1999, Stephen E. Goldstone, The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex: A Medical Handbook for Men, page 59
- Synonyms:
- delouse
Noun
debug (countable and uncountable, plural debugs)
- The action, or a session, of reviewing source code to find and eliminate errors.
- It may appear odd in the example that the no debug all command was entered before and after the debug was done. The first command is unnecessary, but getting into this habit can save you!2009, Dale Liu, Cisco CCNA/CCENT Exam 640-802, 640-822, 640-816 Preparation Kit
- What should be the next steps following a test failure during debug?2019, James K. Peckol, Embedded Systems: A Contemporary Design Tool, page 539
debug meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Gujarati
debug in Tamil
- குறைநீக்கல், தவறு களைதல்
debug in Urdu
- debug
- ازالہ کرنا azālah karnā
debug in Bengali
- ডেবাগ্ করা
debug in Gujarati
- to search for malfunctioning elements
- ભૂલકાઢ bhūlkāḍh
More languagesFewer languages
- debug in Sinhala
- දෝශ නිරාකරණය
- debug in Arabic
- تَصْحِيحُ الْأَخْطَاء taṣḥīḥu l-ʔaḵṭāʔ
- debug in Malay
- menyahpepijat
- debug in Indonesian
- awakutu
- debug in Persian
- دیباگ کردن dibâg kardan, لغزبریدن, لغزعاردن
- debug in Vietnamese
- gỡ lỗi
Examples of debug in a sentence
- Additionally, it's up to you to remember to remove this cron entry when you've debugged the firewall.2015, Steve Suehring, Linux Firewalls: Enhancing Security with nftables and Beyond, page 140:
- Frank's occupation is that of debugging the roses and beating up the paths for miscellaneous insects.1905 June 15, A. J. R., “With the Long Bow”, in The Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis, Minn., retrieved 15 Feb 2017, page 14:
- If you find nits, it's time for some serious debugging.2011, Jay Heinrichs, Home Remedies from a Country Doctor:
- Before we moved into our new quarters we, and our belongings, had to be deloused and debugged.2013, Peter Jackson, Sacrifice, Captivity and Escape: The Remarkable Memoirs of a Japanese POW, page 165:
Synonyms of debug
Forms of debug
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | debugs |
| present participle | debugging |
| past participle | debugged |
| past | debugged |
| Noun | |
| plural | debugs |
Origin of debug
From de- + bug.
Words formed from debug
Phrases with debug
Words that rhyme with debug
23 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about debug
- What does debug mean?
- Debug means to search for and eliminate malfunctioning elements or errors in something, especially a computer program or machinery.
- What is debug in Tamil?
- Debug in Tamil is குறைநீக்கல், தவறு களைதல். See Debug meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use debug in a sentence?
- Additionally, it's up to you to remember to remove this cron entry when you've debugged the firewall.
- What part of speech is debug?
- Debug can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce debug?
- Debug is pronounced /diːˈbʌɡ/.
- What is the past tense of debug?
- The past tense of debug is debugged.
Words near debug in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: debug (page history and authors); debug (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ازالہ کرنا (Urdu) (page history and authors); debug (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); debug (Sinhala Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-debug.ogg.
Cite this entry: “debug.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/debug. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.